North Central Chat Keeping you up to date with all the Landcare and Waterwatch news

December 2020

Connecting rivers, landscapes, people

The North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) acknowledges Traditional Owners and Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander peoples within the region, their rich cultures, spiritual connection to Country.

www.nccma.vic.gov.au

A message from the Regional

Landcare Coordinator

Hi everyone,

Well what a year 2020 has been. As we continue to work

out what a COVID safe Christmas looks like, the number

one priority of people I speak to on the phone is

spending extended time with friends and family. Many of

those conversations also include some silver linings from

this past year.

Landcare Group coordinators have been telling me that

people staying home and engaging with their local creek,

park or bushland, have discovered the amazing work of

their local Landcare groups. Signage, pathways and new

plantings have signposted people toward Landcare and

attracted new members wishing to be actively involved.

This is so pleasingly to hear.

The way in which volunteering and group activity has had

to change over the course of the year, has meant a suite

of new skills and strategies have been brought into

Landcare. Many of these skills and ways of engaging will

continue to be drawn on. Landcare Groups will be looked

up to as an example of how quickly community led

volunteer organisations can adapt to challenging and

unfamiliar circumstances whilst still getting the work

done.

Andrew Borg (Northern Buloke Grampians Landcare

Network) has written a story for us on his experience

being a part of the ‘Let’s Pivot’ program, which gathers

community leaders to inwardly reflect on how they have

changed strategy while still maintaining a community,

group or individual vision during COVID.

It is with great pleasure that we received the Premieres

media release announcing the continued investment in

the Victorian Landcare Program among a host of other

initiatives. The announcement confirms the extension of

contracts for Regional Landcare Coordinators and

existing Local Landcare Facilitators to 30 June 2021.

Over the course of January to June 2021, the North

Central CMA’s Landcare Program will continue to design

and deliver engaging and practical events, resources,

grants and land management advice. The local Landcare

Facilitators play a key role in connecting local

communities and supporting actions across Landcare

groups. A peer-learning and networking event is planned

to bring us all together, alongside Landcare colleagues

from other CMA regions, in May 2021.

We have so enjoyed bringing the North Central Chat to

you all this year. With all the challenges of 2020, the

willingness of our volunteer community to persevere,

maintain activity levels, boost community morale and

stay connected with nature endured throughout the year

and we loved showcasing those achievements and

stories.

Thank you to every one of our 160+ groups, landholders

and land managers who have supported Landcare

through 2020.

Darren and I wish you and your family a very Merry

Christmas and Happy New Year.

Enjoy the read,

Tess Grieves

Regional Landcare Coordinator

North Central CMA

Phone: 03 5448 7124

Email: tess.grieves@nccma.vic.gov.au

Hay, harvest, and heat…it must be close to Christmas! Wishing

all our readers a safe and joyful Christmas.

Photo: Courtesy of Kia Hooke, Serpentine.

North Central Chat December 2020

2

News…

Let’s Pivot - A Landcare perspective

Article by Andrew Borg, Facilitator, Buloke and

Northern Grampians Landcare Network

In October, the ‘Make-A-Change Australia’

organisation, in collaboration with several

partners including the NCCMA, launched a new

program called ‘Let’s Pivot’.

In business terms, pivoting is the correction of methods

or practices to counter the impacts of an external

influence. Along these lines, Let’s Pivot is a free eight-

week community and personal development program

that challenges individuals and community leaders to

inwardly reflect on how they can change strategy while

still maintaining a community, group or individual vision.

The program is comprised of eight 90-minute sessions,

and the participants have varying backgrounds and

professional interests. To me as a participant, the

common denominator was that we all want to improve

our communities in one way or another.

The first four online meetings focus on personal/group

goals and project ideas, and how these can be affected

by an external influence in which we have limited control.

The program starts with an evaluation of what an event

like COVID can teach us about ourselves and how we

can identify opportunities to trigger a positive outcome.

(In my own case it was how lockdown provided an

increased capacity to learn online through a variety of

professional development webinars and workshops such

as Let’s Pivot!) The last four sessions place emphasis on

how a broad array of community group objectives and

visions can be met through the development of different

strategies. By sharing ideas and experiences in an

online forum, we can facilitate human resilience in

response to unanticipated events.

Each session has a theme, building upon the initial

individual assessment through to definition of alternate

project/management strategies. Prior to each meeting,

the Let’s Pivot team send out an agenda, comprising a

series of questions to get the interactive conversation

started as well as a range of online resources to facilitate

our thinking beforehand.

The Let’s Pivot program is thought-provoking,

collaborative and informative for community leaders,

organisations and individuals. A supportive virtual

environment facilitates the ability to bounce ideas

between participants, and gain alternate insights through

different suggestions and experiences.

In a changing world we need to keep finding alternate

ways of delivering key messages and completing

projects. Let’s Pivot provides insight into how we can do

this while, concurrently, revitalising community group

interactions and energies.

Let’s Pivot is open until the end of March 2021, so there

are still plenty of opportunities to get involved:

• participating in zoom discussions

• accessing digital resources and information

tools

• tuning into an online speaker program, and

• connecting with a network of great people doing

great things.

North Central Chat December 2020

3

Spreading the word (not the alligator weed!) in Bendigo

Article by Agriculture Victoria’s Incursion Control

Team

Agriculture Victoria has been working closely

with local authorities, land managers and

community groups in Bendigo to raise

awareness of the State prohibited weed

alligator weed.

Of the Victorian alligator weed infestations, only one lies

north of the Great Divide, in Bendigo Creek. The

infestation threatens to displace local native flora,

damage habitat for native animals, clog up drains and

other infrastructure, and block water flow. The plant

grows rapidly on both land and water.

Bendigo Creek flows through the city of Bendigo, then

passes through high value farmland, Kerang’s RAMSAR-

listed wetlands and into the Murray River. Alligator weed

poses a threat to all of these if it were to spread beyond

its current 30 km extent, and cost tens of thousands of

dollars more to control.

Local land managers are working to rehabilitate and

improve Bendigo Creek, including the Reimagining

Bendigo Creek project, however the benefits of these

works would be lost if alligator weed invaded the

proposed infrastructure, frog ponds and revegetation

sites.

To protect the Bendigo Creek system, Agriculture

Victoria complements its annual alligator weed

eradication program by working with local authorities and

community groups to raise awareness of the weed. A

series of workshops over recent years have involved

presentations, discussions and site visits, where

participants learn to identify alligator weed and discuss

its potential impacts. Through this engagement,

Agriculture Victoria aims to increase the number of

people looking for alligator weed and build partnerships

so everyone can work together to protect Bendigo Creek

and the downstream assets.

If you see alligator weed, or any other State prohibited

weed, please report it to the Agriculture Victoria

Customer Contact Centre on 136 186 or email

weed.spotters@agriculture.vic.gov.au. To find out more

about alligator weed, please visit

https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/weeds/state-

prohibited-weeds/alligator-weed.

Alligator Weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) found along

Bendigo Creek. Photo: Agriculture Victoria.

Bridal Creeper banished with new bridge construction

The new Campaspe River bridge is currently

having its beams put in place and should be

trafficable for construction traffic by the end of

2020.

Over 2ha of bridal creeper is going to be treated in

Victoria Park as part of the project and all the woody

weeds. Major Road Projects Victoria engaged Woka

Walla crew to undertake this weed control. It also helps

out the Echuca Moama Landcare Group who have been

chipping away at these weeds for years. Major Road

Projects Victoria is also doing lots of Squirrel Glider

survey and nest box work in Victoria Park together with

Strathallan Landcare Group.

North Central Chat December 2020

4

Platypus pride of place in the Coliban River

Malmsbury Landcare Group are pleased to

confirm there is a strong population of Platypus

in the Malmsbury section of the Coliban River.

The group has released the report for the October

platypus survey undertaken in the Coliban River at

Malmsbury. This survey was completed by Australian

Platypus Conservancy and was funded by Malmsbury

District Landcare.

President John Walter said “There had been some

anecdotal reporting that residents were not seeing the

platypus any more but the survey places the population

at an equivalent level to that of the 2001 survey

commissioned by CMA”.

The APC report findings state “The Coliban River at

Malmsbury currently supports a population comprising at

least eight resident animals (2 females and 6 males).”

The scientists also note that the timing of the survey

(early October) coincides with the period some females

are expected to be incubating eggs or caring for recently

hatched young.

You can follow Malmsbury Landcare’s wonderful work,

via their active Facebook page.

Expression of Interest – Carbon landholder register in the north central region

The North Central CMA is actively looking to support

large scale carbon projects across our catchment as we

recognise the potential contribution of the carbon market

to support our Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS)

objectives, such as climate change mitigation, retention

and protection of on farm biodiversity, biodiversity links,

stewardship and increasing soil health.

It is our intention to set up an interested landholder

register to allow us to facilitate and enable large scale

projects with our NRM partners in the region. We would

like to hear from any landholders that would be

interested in participating in the carbon market – soil or

revegetation.

As a guide we have provided the following criteria, but

we encourage anyone with an interest to register their

details with us as opportunities may exist for smaller

sites. Keep in mind that a longer-term commitment would

be required on these projects.

Criteria for land

• The preference would be for 50 hectares or

more but 20+ hectares would be acceptable OR

• Long stretch of riparian zones

• Ideally area should provide opportunity for

biodiversity, biolinks and indigenous outcomes

• Looking for ecosystems that hold carbon

Once we have an established list of interested

landholders, we will be in contact in early 2021 with next

steps. We will not share any personal information without

your permission. The intention of this exercise will be to

create project scale – if we get enough of you on board

then we are more likely to have a viable project.

This is a very exciting development so please register

your interest here.

North Central Chat December 2020

5

Do you have Butterflies, Bees and Bugs in your backyard?

Article by Trudy Nelsson, Wedderburn Conservation

Management Network

What is it about butterflies? Is it their colourful

beauty? Their non-threatening nature? Their

fascinating metamorphosis, from caterpillar to

a beautiful, winged creature? Their essential

pollination services they provide to our native

plants?

No one ever tells this insect to go away, nor are there

repellent sprays on the shelves to get rid of them, in fact,

having one land on you is a privilege!

All kids go through a butterfly phase at some point, and

there are some adults I know who are still fascinated by

them (I am one). There are so many wonderful species

to discover in Wedderburn, and this project encourages

local potential entomologists to discover them.

The ‘Building Bee, Bug and Butterfly biodiversity’ Garden

project aims to increase awareness of the importance of

biodiversity in our own backyards. It teaches students

how they can positively contribute to sustainability and

ecosystem services in Wedderburn, through caterpillars,

butterflies, and native flowering plants.

Each of our community’s kinder kids and families have

received Pupae, Caterpillars, and local indigenous

plants. The kinder kids have been able to watch the

caterpillars form pupae, and the pupae grow into

butterflies, ready for release into their backyards.

Each family received local indigenous plant species to

build an understanding of the importance of native

vegetation for our caterpillars and butterflies in the local

area, and to experience the butterfly’s unique life stages,

by hatching caterpillars and pupae themselves and

closely observing their life stages. It also encouraged

the students to create an ideal environment for them by

planting the native plants they need to survive.

We invited students and parents to go on a nature

scavenger hunt. We encouraged them to look for tracks,

scat, and evidence of animals in our local area. We gave

each child a planting pack and insect discovery kit, which

included local plant species grown by the local Mount

Korong Eco Watch nursery, together with acacia seeds

to make seed bombs, magnifying glasses, butterfly nets,

bug observation jars and field guides, notes and activity

sheets.

This initiative was made available through a Junior

Landcare grant, made in in partnership between the

Wedderburn Community House, Wedderburn

Conservation Management Network, Wedderburn

Kindergarten, and the Loddon Shire.

We anticipate building a butterfly, bee and bug attracting

garden and outdoor learning space at the front of the

Wedderburn Kinder in the new year. The garden has

been designed by local landscaper, James Cook, and

will include a sand river, puddling rocks, local indigenous

plant species, Bee Hotels, signage, seating and garden

art all produced by locals including the Wedderburn

Men’s Shed.

Images in this article C/O Adele George.

North Central Chat December 2020

6

What a year it has been for the River Detectives program! A year like no other forcing schools, and in turn us, to be flexible and resilient in what we do and how we do it.

Throughout the year we provided waterway-themed activity matrices to ensure students could continue to access fun, engaging, nature-based learning opportunities in the remote learning environment. Some great feedback showed us these were highly valued by schools. However, due to COVID we understand that the experience of schools of the River Detectives program has been nothing like they had planned when they began their journey in February. For some regions, COVID hit before teachers had participated in the Introductory PD session, so the program really never got started. This has been very disappointing for schools and for us but, let's be honest, schools have had more pressing issues to deal with for the academic and emotional support of their valued students. And that's OK. We sincerely hope that schools are still passionate about environmental education and the wonderful learning that can come about through the River Detectives program.

In light of all we have learnt this year we have exciting plans in place to offer an even more flexible, supportive and engaging program next year, and we hope schools can see a place for the River Detectives program in 2021.

In times like these, connecting students with nature is

more important than ever!

So, we are excited to announce that registrations are

NOW OPEN to schools and youth groups for the 2021

River Detectives program.

If you are a participating school we have emailed you a link to the 2020 evaluation survey and 2021 registration form and we look forward to hearing from you.

In 2021 we are strategically aligning our program with

current North Central CMA projects and inviting schools

in certain locations within the region to join the River

Detectives program and be part of the following exciting

initiatives:

• Bendigo Creek Citizen Science project

• Caring for the Campaspe project

• A Healthy Coliban Catchment project

• RiverScan project (Gunbower and lower Loddon

area)

•

If your school falls within one of those project areas you

will be receiving an invitation letter this week and we’d

love you to consider taking part!

To find out more about the program and how it could

work in a school near you visit:

www.riverdetectives.net.au

I sincerely hope the last few weeks of the school year go

smoothly and that all teachers and students enjoy a very

well-deserved break over the summer holidays.

See you for a bigger, better year in 2021!

Nicole Howie

Waterwatch Project Officer

Email: nicole.howie@nccma.vic.gov.au

North Central Chat December 2020

7

Sustainable Ag snippet…

Regenerative Agriculture Farmer Groups

There are four regenerative farmer groups we

support through funding from the National

Landcare Program.

Even though we have been through some challenging

times over the past few months, the four regenerative

farmer groups have been active engaging with each

other and engaging guest speakers to keep the groups

involved and connected.

Some of the farmers have set up demonstration sites or

weather stations, which will be a focus now the groups

can gather on site. Also, the information gathered from

these will be utilised by the groups to support better

decision making.

The use of webinars has also made it possible for Project

Manager Felicity Harrop and me to be involved in all the

activities delivered by the farmer groups and support

them with some of their technical requirements. Although

we were not meeting face to face, we were still able to

keep up to date with the activities delivered by each

group from our home office.

All groups have used video technology to some degree

engaging many speakers far and wide, such as farmer

Grant Pontifex who runs a family farm at Paskeville and

Kangaroo Island in SA, Greg Dalton, discussing dung

beetles and beetle nurseries from SA, David Hardwick,

an agroecologist from Albury andColin Seis, a farmer

from Gulgong in NSWMany of the farmers involved in the

project have also shared their journey in regenerative

agriculture.

It has been fascinating to watch and listen to the stories

of the farmers involved in the regenerative agriculture

project. Even though they may have more questions than

answers, they are enthusiastic about being involved in

the project and keen to keep learning from their practices

and each other.

The information presented by the guest speakers and the

stories shared by these farmers is well worth watching. If

you would like to know more about the project, you can

watch some of the videos on the North Central

Catchment Management Authority website

http://www.nccma.vic.gov.au/projects/agriculture#node-

2041 or contact the Project Manager Felicity Harrop

felicity.harrop@nccma.vic.gov.au

Raywood farmer Dusty Pascoe with one of the weather stations

installed in the district

New Video: Siting and recording native pollinators

Upper Campaspe Landcare Network President,

John Walter teaches us how to site and record

pollinator sightings in a fantastic new 10 min

video.

Grab a cuppa, have a watch and then next time you find

yourself with some time to spare on a day that is sunny,

warm and calm, find a flowering plant or tree in your area

and choose a single large flower, or a group of smaller

flowers and sit there quietly for ten minutes and just

watch. Keep a close eye on any insect that visits the

flowers and moves around on the pistil or stamens

(reproductive parts).

North Central Chat December 2020

8

Courses & Resources…

A little more about pollinators – with Dr. Mark Hall

Last month celebrated National Pollinator Week

and the Upper Campaspe Landcare Network

marked the occasion with the launch of their

Upper Campaspe Catchment Pollinator

Corridor Project.

Landcare Facilitator Rebekah Ritchie was delighted with

the interest “It is official! After months of planning and

excited preparation behind the scenes, the Pollinator

Corridor Project has officially launched!

“We couldn’t be more thrilled with the level of interest we

have received in this community based project, and we

are keen to keep the momentum going on this fabulous

endeavour! Remember – we can’t deliver this project

without our community.”

For those of you interested in tiny, winged beings, Dr.

Mark Hall has very kindly provided a copy of his

presentation for everyone to enjoy.

Visit the UCLN website for all the details and a copy of

the presentation: A little more about Pollinators – with

Doctor Mark Hall | Upper Campaspe Landcare

Environmental Volunteering Opportunities - Interactive Map

DELWP is making it easy for people interested in

environmental volunteering to get involved through local

groups.

It’s as simple as:

1. Zoom into the location you're interested in. Each dot represents a group.

2. Select the dot to see the following info: Group

name, core activities, contact details (Facebook

or website). (Multiple groups may be

represented by an individual dot. To access all

groups use the arrow keys at the top of the pop

up box).

3. Connect with the group through their website or

social media platforms and let them know you’re

keen to participate.

North Central Chat December 2020

9

Events…

Join BoM climate experts for an update on

temperature, rainfall and other conditions to

date, and an in depth look at the outlook for

summer 2020–21.

Register now to learn how the Bureau's climate and

water information can help you make important decisions

for the season ahead.

If you have any topics for our presenters to cover -

please include them when you register.

Upcoming webinar topics include

• Summer 2020–21 climate and water update

Thursday Dec 3 from 2-3pm

Register via: Webex Events

• State of Climate 2020

Wednesday December 9 from 12:00 noon

Register via: Webex Events

An update from Landcare Australia Ltd.

If you’d like to find out a bit more about engaging and

working with young people, the Landcare Youth Summit

Webinar is right up your alley.

Taking place on 3 December at 4pm (AEDT), Sky

Gerhardy, Saskia Dunn and Mitchell Livington from

South Australia’s Youth & Community in Conservation

Action (YACCA) will share insights from the recent

Landcare Youth Summit event.

Hosted by Landcare Ambassador, Sophie Taylor-Price,

the session will include a discussion on ideas for

Landcare groups to engage young people and involve

them in their group projects, and how young people can

volunteer and seek guidance from the landcare

community.

On 10 December at 12.30pm (AEDT), we’re talking soil

with Sue Bestow from the Office of the National Soils

Advocate.

In Five interventions to improve soil health, Sue will

share a vision to improve soil health at a meaningful

scale. Joined by Landcare Farming Program Manager,

Mick Taylor, Sue will explain how coordinated, collective

action, and the support of committed partners can result

in productivity, environmental and social benefits which

will accumulate for future generations.

The National Landcare Conference webinar series will

continue in 2021, with full details of the program to be

announced early next year. Be sure to register your

details to be kept up to date.

North Central Chat December 2020

10

Funding opportunities…

Small Environmental Grant

Scheme The WET award grants four times a year every

year – February, May, August and November.

The EOI is the first stage (just two questions) and if your

project fits, then you go on to Stage 2 with a bunch of

other questions, listed in this document.

Executive Director Beth Mellick says “There are opening dates for these grant rounds, but no closing dates – I close the round when I’m satisfied that I have a suitable number and spread of applications to present to the Trustees. So it’s best to get in as soon as you can when the round opens” Dates for the upcoming opening round are:

• 1st December 2020 (funding released February

2021)

We are looking for projects around:

• flora and fauna conservation (Australia-wide)

• threatened mammal conservation (Australia-wide)

These projects should involve any of the following:

• monitoring, recording and sharing data

• delivering community education

• providing community capacity building (e.g. training)

• research and science

For further information on guidelines, EOI and application details visit: Small Environmental Grant Scheme – Wettenhall Environment Trust

2020 highlights & happy snaps

Mount Alexander Intrepid Landcarers (and two tiny recruits) joined Ian ‘Higgo’ Higgins for a crash course in native vegetation during a Campbells Creek Bushwalk, November 2020.

A new video production showcases the wonderful applied learnings and trials being undertaken by Regenerative Farmers from Blampied, Mt Bolton & Bung Bong, November 2020.

Our beloved school based trainees designed these shirts as part of their CMA work. Expressing culture, pride and identity, the shirt design includes drawings of totem animals, colours of the Aboriginal flag, the Torres Strait Islander flag and a symbol for a meeting place, showing the students, staff and Elders coming together.